brilliant : photobook video blog

August 28, 2020

At Brilliant, we love photographers and their work. Many of us are working photographers, and we know what it is like to send work off to print, and to experience both elation and disappointment. We want to do everything we can to make the process of printing photobooks a predictable, enjoyable, and ultimately satisfying process. Accordingly, we are working on our website to include more photographer-friendly links and tools, as well as to start a video blog through which we will endeavor to show you the entire printing process – from design to print to marketing to distribution. We’ll explore all facets with you, and seek your involvement and participation as well. Please let us know what you think of this first video link. It is important to us that we help you in print – any way we can. Thank you. – Bob Tursack, CEO
Bob Tursack

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15 Comments

  • Michael Furman says:

    Hi Bob,

    I think this is a great idea, and you came acrosss very sincere and knowledgable. Let me know if I can do anything to help you with this effort. I do have a couple of small, limited edition projects I need to complete.

    Well done…MF

    • Bob Tursack says:

      Thanks, Michael. We are wanting to help folks become more knowledgeable and comfortable with the process – and avoid compromise along the way. Talk to you soon. BT

  • VERY thorough and informative. Thank you Bob!

  • Mark Ludak says:

    Please keep us informed of future videos in this series—

  • Bob, great introduction! It speaks to so many parts of the process. One of the things that impressed Arnie and me when we first talked with you was that it was clear you were interviewing us as much as we were interviewing you. It was obvious that you wanted to make sure that we would be a good fit. And when you came back so enthusiastically with, “BEAUTIFUL work! We are going to have some fun together,” after we sent you some representative images, that cemented it for us. With some prior experience with publishing, it made the process easier, as we knew many of the terms and concepts, but you and Sue (Trickel) made sure we were not missing anything. After all, this is our first book. We knew we wanted offset rather than digital printing, and because of the particularly challenging wide gamut of our photographs, you ultimately suggested going with 7-color with the varnish. That extra green, violet, and black made all the difference. Your attention to detail along with that of your team, make us even more impatient to see NEW ORLEANS go from the press proofs we just received by FedEx to the full, bound book. I should note that normally, we would have come in for the press proofs, but because of COVID-19, we felt comfortable, given the history and progression of the project, to trust you to “get it right.” Except for a minor adjustment of perhaps 1/4 of a stop, we are ecstatic. Your video speaks to so many aspects of the process, and anyone who takes the time to listen to it all the way through will not be disappointed by working with Brilliant. My only suggestion is to make the intro of your wonderful experience a tad shorter in the video. Kudos to you and Brilliant!

  • Harvey Stein says:

    Hi Bob, terrific video, I related to lots that you said, particularly your early experiences. I look forward to future videos, thanks for doing this, a great service, and needed. Many thanks.

  • Rain says:

    As a first-time visitor to your site, I watched the intro video and gained a sense that Brilliant is exactly who I want to work with to produce an exceptional and high quality project. The calm but passionate tone really works as you touch on various aspects of the design, materials and process involved. Although the video runs a bit long, this might actually be suitable for the current times as we strive for a personable effect in remote collaborations. I’m excited to learn more so I can prepare for an actual project with you. Thanks for taking the time to produce the videos.

  • Another first-time viewer (via Arnie and Margo) who is about six months away from starting the process. I look forward to your future videos. Do you have an e-mail notification system or newsletter announcing future videos? I loved hearing your personal history with photography.

    • Joe Sheehan says:

      Roger,

      Thank you for your reply and question. I’ve added a subscribe to our newsletter to this, and all news articles. So you can stay informed as we develop new stories and articles. Simply add your name and email and hit subscribe, we’ll follow up with some related articles and get you on the regular list to receive all future communications.

      Thanks again!
      Joe from Brilliant

  • thomas shillea says:

    Bob
    Congratulations on the long line of excellent art books you have published over the years. I was watching the recent video about designing a photo book and was surprised to see a totally blank wall behind you. Blank walls are criminal, especially for a company like yours.

  • Will you work with an amateur photographer who wants only one photo book? After watching your first video it looks like it is a labor intensive process. If not do you have any suggestions other than making your own.

    • BobTursack says:

      We are pleased to work on just one. We have done this in the past and would like to help you in any way for any quantity. If it helps you further your work, we are all behind it.

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